8. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the impact of the education maintenance allowance? OQ57390

Llywydd, our commitment to the continuation of the education maintenance allowance is set out in our programme for government. Feedback from learners emphasises the importance of this support in helping them to continue their studies. EMA scheme rules are reviewed each year prior to opening the scheme to applications.

Thank you for that response, First Minister. 

In the first instance, I think it's important to reiterate actually what the First Minister has said in recognising that actually keeping EMA in place in Wales is providing much needed support for learners, and I welcome the commitment to protect EMA in the programme for government. But I was wondering whether or not the Government will be reviewing EMA, specifically the amount that's paid to students and the process of applying. Currently, the amount paid to learners is the same amount now as it was when I was in receipt of it, and it has remained at the same amount, which is £30 a week, since its introduction in 2004. Essentially, we haven't seen an increase in just shy of 20 years, so it hasn't accounted for inflation at all. If I could turn the First Minister's attention to Bridgend College, for just a moment, to illustrate a further point, in Bridgend College they usually have between 700 and 800 full-time further education learners who claim EMA. However, there are concerns that there are many more students who need access. As we know, EMA is means-tested, and many have raised with me that the forms are complex and difficult to understand. So, I would hope that, as the Government reviews EMA, these specific issues will be considered, moving forward. 

Llywydd, I'd like to thank Luke Fletcher for those supplementary questions. 

We do, of course, keep the scheme under review. In the last year, prior to the pandemic—so, the last year you think would be a fair comparison—then, over 20,200 students were supported by the EMA scheme, at a cost of nearly £18 million. And, on top of that, the Welsh Government provides £6 million in the financial contingency fund, which further education colleges are able to use, precisely in order to give some additional flexibility over and above the means-tested nature of the EMA itself. I've seen the Bevan Foundation report, of course, about the fact that were we to uplift the EMA to maintain its real-terms value we'd need to go to £45. That would cost another £8.2 million a year, and if we were to raise the thresholds, to take account of the point that Mr Fletcher was making about some young people not being able to access it, that would take the additional investment required to over £10 million. And, I'm afraid, in all of these things, choices have to be made. The programme for government, including all the agreements that we have in the co-operation agreement between his party and mine, have identified the top priorities for investment as being free school meals, childcare and that range of other commitments that we've entered into together. And while we will, of course, keep under review the EMA, the current commitment is to sustain it into this Senedd term, and unless our settlements become significantly more generous than were set out in the comprehensive spending review, that's probably going to have to be where our ambition rests.